Roy Orbison's 75th Year

This is Roy Orbison's 75th birthday year. Now, I wouldn't have even known if it hadn't of been for my good buddy, Durango. See, he really does Know All about Texas. He directed a Mr. Wayne Robins my way, who happens to be writing an article about Orbison's birthday bash and what everyone around the world is doing to celebrate. He wanted to know what exactly Wink, previous homestead and mecca to the legendary rock n roll icon, had in store for the annual Roy Orbison Festival, that is usually held in June.

And sadly enough, I haven't a clue. I did direct Mr. Robins to Mrs. Mayberry, who is on the festival's committee for lining up all the events. I sure hope they knew it was his 75th birthday. When I did mention to Mr. Robins about the Pretty Woman contest, he said he might be able to send some of that perfume my way! He even thought I was pretty enough to enter the contest myself! Those New Yorkers...such charmers.

Mr. Robins not only writes/critiques for Billboard, he also has a few graphic novels in the works. He's one of those fellas that has a very creative imagination. One in which he rewrites some of rock history. It makes for an interesting read, if you're interested. I was, and I did read, for a few hours. Tell ya what, I'm hoping that Mr. Robins finds some time to put some of these ideas into a book.

In the meanwhile, I'll keep reading his blog and hoping that he'll send me some of the Pretty Woman perfume he's been telling me about. A Country girl needs a whiff of the big city every now and then!

Roy Orbison Festival 2009 --Wink, TX

The Roy Orbison Festival in Wink, TX started Friday evening with the Pretty Woman Contest. Shelbi Richardson, the pageant winner and a senior this year wore the crown beautifully. After the pageant, local Orbison impersonator, Walt Quigley, opened for the Truly Lover Trio. I myself didn't attend any of these events as I was saving all my strength for the parade on Saturday. Annie and I arrived just as the parade started Saturday morning, and was a bit disappointed that only a few of the antique cars showed up. All in all, it was probably the smallest Orbison parade I ever recalled seeing. After the parade we crossed the street and headed to check out the vendors. The flea market had been canceled so we were just left with a dozen or so vendors which the majority were locals. My daughter's favorite experience was of course the dunking booth. She paid to throw some balls and then
she begged to sit in the booth to have some balls thrown at her! I'm pretty sure we spent about two hours at that particular event. Pretty much, you toured the museum, ate a hot dog, dunked a kid and waited until the evening's concert, unless you meandered over to the park where a softball tourney was being played. It was the first of it's kind for the festival and I'm told that it was a huge success which means more than likely it will repeat for next year. The evening ended and brought on the Stage 3 Band, featuring Wes Orbison on bass. I found out tonight, that Wes made his debut about 20 years ago in Wink when he was just a kid. The Truly Lover Trio then performed and they were pleasant. There were a few dancers, but for the most part people just sat and enjoyed the cool evening breeze and some time to unwind with some good music. Friday evening's rain as well as the early Saturday morning rain threatened to dampen the festival, but by 9AM...all the rain had dissipated and the day's events went on without a hitch! Overall, Annie and I enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to next year's event.

Oh, Pretty Woman...A Listen to Roy Orbison in the Wake of 20th Annual Wink Festival

Wink Texas Presents the 20th Annual Roy Orbison Festival

When I moved to Wink back in 1985 with my parents there wasn't a Roy Orbison Festival, but my parents and I did live originally on the same spot that Orbison lived so many years ago. I escaped from Wink in 1987 after graduation, but returned in 2001, to everyone's disbelief as well as my own. That's when I experienced my first Roy Orbison Festival.

It was a big let down, considering I'd heard about the "glory" days of when the Roy Orbison Festival was awesome. They had big name performers such as Ray Price,Red Hot Chili Peppers,Earl Thomas Conley, and Rick Trevino ...but that was in the past. It seemed that a few of the old timers only wanted Roy Orbison impersonators, so the big performers no longer came.

Year after year, the Roy Orbison Festival dwindled. They changed the month about five years ago to April and then the following year didn't even have a festival! Winkites were tired of being let down and someone(s) needed to step in and get the festival back on track! After all, the whole point was to commemorate Roy Orbison.

This year Wink has a new mayor, and some fresh blood on the committee. People are excited and talking it up. The Roy Robison Festival will feature the Pretty Woman Contest, the Roy Orbison Museum, a car show and parade, flea market, vendors and a street dance.